SELINSGROVE, Pa. -- It’s a new year, and the new beginnings for many communities are turning over a new leaf in leadership.
All across northeastern and central Pennsylvania, newly elected officeholders were sworn into office on Monday.
In one borough in Snyder County, the newest councilman also doubles as a college freshman.
With the repeating of vows, Selinsgrove welcomed its newest and youngest council member at the start of the Selinsgrove council meeting Monday night.
Chris Kalcich, 18, was halfway through his senior year at Selinsgrove Area High School when he decided to take a shot at a seat on the borough council and won.
“I was already involved with the Snyder Country Democrats Committee, and I had met great people there,” said Chris. “I had worked on campaigns in the past, and I was like, I think this is something I can do to give back to the community.”
Borough Council President Marvin Rudnitski says having a young member on council brings a breath of fresh air.
“It's helpful to have those youthful people on and give their views of things that may a little different from someone with as much grey hair as I do,” said Rudnitski.
As a new member of the council, Chris would like to see more community-based initiatives formed that bring people together, especially the area's youth. That's not surprising, considering what he does for a living.
Since 2016, Chris has worked part-time at the regional engagement center, which provides a variety of educational, recreational and charitable activities for the community.
Chris has overseen the cafeteria that provides children with food when they come in after school.
“We hired him on immediately after graduation,” said REC director Kelly Feiler. “He ran the whole summer camp kitchen program for us, he hired these guys, did all their training and really takes a lot of pride in the appearance of the café.”
Now, Chris is tackling the first year of college, a fulltime job, and a being a public official, but he's not worried.
“I was involved in so many programs in high school, I was president of the National Honor Society, I was in marching band, I was in concert band,” said Chris. “I still worked all through high school. I worked for the American Lung Association, and I feel this is actually less on my plate right now.”
Chris says he plans to major in studio art and painting, but in deference to his new part-time job, he'll minor in political science.